New Adventure New Beginning
by Ninth Doctor Fan
Summary: A reboot of Lost in Space: The Jupiter Two is launching in order to help set up a colony on a distant planet. However, only a few days into the mission, everything goes wrong. This fic is the first part of a series.   20 Mar: Just changed the rating
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I was a fan of the TV Show when I watched reruns as a child. I liked the movie (I was fourteen when it came out). Recently, I was thinking about what Lost in Space might look like if I had come up with the idea today. If you like it, then please enjoy it. If you don't like, then feel free to not like it. I am not the creator of Lost in Space, and I am not making any money from the posting of this work. Lost in Space and the characters therein are own (as far as I know) by Irwin Allen and CBS. Please review, I would love to know what you think, even if you hate it. [Oh, if you see things that look like they come from other shows or books or whatever, I don't own them either.]

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Prologue

Space is vast. It goes out in every direction and there is so much of it that most scientists say that it is without end. For the most part, it is black nothingness. It would be very easy to lose something in the vastness of space. It would be easy to lose everything.

"October 16, 2217.

"This is a great day for the human race. From the great Alpha Station in orbit around the Earth, the Global Alliance, the Eastern Coalition, and the African Federation have come together in order to witness the launch the Jupiter Mission. In the Sahara, a trio of ships prepare to launch from our world. Their mission is to set off for the distant planet of Trigellus Four in order to colonize a new world. A world of hope to-"

*CLICK*

Penny turned off the viewer. The sixteen year old could not take any more of the newscaster's pretentious reporting of the mission. It was bad enough that she would be spending the next eighteen years out of contact with Earth because of the FTL travel. But her last day with real Earth television was ruined by everyone covering the Jupiter Mission. She simply could not take it. And no one had thought to ask her what she thought.

Frustrated, Penny Robinson looked into her mirror. Her hair had started to muss up, so she attacked with her brush. She used to wear her hair long, but a recent haircut rendered it into a dark brown mop covering her ears. She used to love pigtail, now all she could do was a basic, and stupid, comb over with a part over her right eye. She ended up throwing the brush back into the drawer.

Launch was three hours away and she was anxious. She did not look forward to being stuck in the cryo-tube. She, and everyone involved, could vividly remember her claustrophobic freak out during training when she had first entered a cryo-tube. The doctor told her to take anxiety meds before getting in the tube. She actually needed to go to the Medbay soon so Dr. Smith could give her the meds.

Looking out her window, Penny stared at the endless sands of the Sahara. A lifelong citizen of the Global Alliance, Penny grew up in cities that towered over the landscape. Seeing the flatness of the desert with nothing but sand still shocked her. She found it comforting and peaceful. She wondered what it would be like in the blackness of space.

Penny's thoughts were interrupted by a short buzz. "Penny, Dr. Smith and I are waiting for you in the Medbay."

Penny stepped over to the intercom.

"I'll be right there, Mom."

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The Jupiter Two is a state of the art ship and its medbay contained only the best in medical technology. Three bio-beds, each hooked up to monitoring equipment, lied the wall opposite the door. To the right of these beds were two tubes from floor to ceiling. These tubes filled with nutrient baths that aid the healing process. On the left of the bio-beds stood a full surgical suite, complete with a full body scanner and a holo-imager. Next to the door was a desk for the ship's doctor. Behind the nutrient tubes sat the dispensary, with a fully stocked pharmacy, and the necessary equipment to replicate needed medicines.

Penny sat on one of the bio-beds, with a thermometer in her mouth. She was less than happy.

"I thellin you I'm thine."

"No talking, Penelope," came the crisp response of Dr. Zachary Smith, "you are pale, and I believe you have a fever. Let the thermometer do its work."

The Doctor also scanned her with a metal device making a deep toned reverberating whistle. Penny detested Smith. He was a thin rail of a man with slicked back black hair and a Van Dyke beard that (and she could never figure out how he did this) came to a point at his chin. He also possessed the blackest eyes Penny had ever seen. Besides, he had the annoying habit of always calling her Penelope. She hated that.

Behind him, her mom paced back and forth. Professor Maureen Robinson wore her blond hair in a tight bun and Penny preferred when her green eyes had the warmth of love. Of course, those green eyes could also terrify the sixteen year old when angered.

Dr. Smith finished his scan, checked a display, made some humming noises, then finally took the thermometer out of Penny's mouth.

"What's the prognosis, Doc?"

Smith turned to her mother. "Professor, your daughter is running a high fever, almost a hundred and two degrees. Frankly, I am surprised that she is feeling so well."

"What is causing it?" Maureen asked.

Smith got a confused look, "I really do not know, Professor. These scans make little sense. I will continue to examine the data.

"We launch in less than three hours." Penny said. "Can I just get the anxiety meds and leave?"

"Oh, they won't be necessary." Smith said.

"Doctor," Maureen said in sotto voce, as if Penny could not hear her, "have you forgotten the last time she went in the tube without the pill?"

Smith did not bother with whispering, "Of course I haven't. But with this temperature, I can not allow Penelope to enter the cryo-tube. The tubes are set for people with internal temperatures ranging from ninety-seven to ninety-nine-point-five degrees. With this high a fever, it could be detrimental to her health."

Both Maureen and Penny groaned.

"Does this mean we have to replace her?" Maureen asked. They had already been forced to replace their planetologist, Dr. Jorgenson, three weeks before launch. Replacing Penny would mean not only leaving behind a member of the family. It also meant that they would need a new ship's mechanic, a job that Penny had been training for since she was thirteen.

"No, she will be fit for the mission." Smith said, "We simply need to wait for the fever to disappear, and then she will be ready for cryo-stasis."

Maureen breathed a sigh of relief.

"How long will that take?"

"It will take as long as it takes; a day, two days, maybe a week."

"And then, into the freezer I go."

Maureen noticed the clock on the wall. "I have to get to the briefing. Penny, I'll see you before launch."

Maureen left the Medbay.

Penny jumped off of the bed. She stepped up to Smith.

"Alright, Smith, what's really wrong with me?"

Smith gave her a confused look.

"Don't play stupid, Doctor." Penny said, "I know that I don't have a fever of one hundred and two. I'd be freezing on the ship."

"Very well, Penelope," Smith smirked, "you're right. You don't have a fever. I wasn't lying though, I don't know what you have. And until I know what it is, I cannot clear you for cryo-stasis."

Penny grabbed the bed. Her head spun. She felt ready to faint. "But there is something wrong?"

Smith continued in his crisp tone. "There is. Have you suffered any symptoms that you have kept to yourself?"

"I've been getting nose-bleeds." She confessed. "I find bruises, but I thought that was just from getting banged in the Engine Room. Then, there's the-"

No, she could not tell him about that. Under no circumstances.

"There's what?" Crap, he was suspicious.

Penny tried to play it off. "It's nothing."

She knew he did not believe her. For a moment, he seemed ready to press her.

"Alright, we'll leave it at that." Smith motioned to the door. "Go ahead, but see me everyday until we're in stasis."

Penny started for the door.

"Penelope, if anything happens that is not a normal everyday occurrence, tell me."

Penny left the Medbay and it damnable occupant. She needed peace. She needed comfort. She strode off for the Lefler's quarters.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Still don't own Lost in Space. Still not making money off of this fic. Review if you like, review if you don't like, don't review if you don't want to.

Chapter One

John Robinson stood at the Navigation Station of the most advanced cockpit ever conceived. The large room could easily accommodate the fourteen human and two robotic occupants of the ship.

The whole outer wall was dominated by massive six-inch thick transparent material. The current view showed the launch pads for the two other Jupiters and beyond that the control tower housing half of Alpha Control. Before these massive windows lay the flight control consoles. The three consoles were designed as a double redundancy. Anywhere from one to three people could man the consoles to control the Jupiter's flight. A large table-like console sat in the center of the room. This housed the interface for the Navigational Computer, as well as a holographic array. More computer consoles lined the back wall, each indicating the status and control for all of the ship's functions.

Around the Nav station, John was joined by five individuals, two more men and three women.

The holo-emitter displayed a binary star system with seven planets orbiting in wide oblong ellipses.

John, a tall dark haired bearded man, continued the final briefing.

"After eighteen year of FTL travel, the computer will wake us all from cryo-stasis. Then Major West will land the Jupiter on the fourth planet of the system, where we and the other two crews will begin our work."

John pressed a button, and the holo-image zoomed into the fourth planet, a relatively small planet dominated by rocky continents and a few small oceans.

"Robert and I," John indicated the skinnier of the two men near him, "will start a scientific survey of the planet. Hopefully, we can confirm the probe's readings of a viable biosphere."

John next turned to the woman standing on the opposite side of the station. "Maureen will aid the Jupiter One crew with the Botanical systems, as well as taking command of the construction mission."

Maureen did not seem to react but John noticed her bristling. They still had a lot to work out between them.

"Brianna," John turned to the petite blonde woman next to Robert Lefler, "and Dr. Smith will set up the Medical Facilities aided by several personnel from Jupiter Three."

Finally, John turned to the couple on his right side; a bull of a man with dark hair with a scruffy beard, and a tall and youthful brunette.

"Werner and Gerhild will use our pair of B9 Robots to aid in the construction of the Colony. Hopefully, within a year of arriving on planet, we will be joined by additional colony ships from Alpha Control."

John looked over each crew member. "Any questions?"

Brianna Lefler spoke up. "Are we sure the ship will make it?"

This was a common question from Brianna. She always seems to be doubting the mission's viability.

Maureen answered, "Don't worry, Briannna. All systems have checked out. The computer is capable of flying the Jupiter anywhere. The Power Core has a half-life of twelve thousand years, and the ship's mechanic will be checking all systems once a month."

Brianna retorted, "The ship's mechanic is a sixteen year old."

Everyone sighed. This was an old argument. They all knew that Penny had spent the better part of three years learning the ins and outs of every system on the Jupiter. And if she ever met a problem she could not solve, she could easily un-freeze any of them or activate one of the Robots.

"Don't worry, Brianna," her husband Robert said, "we have contingencies and redundancies for everything."

"But-"

"No buts." Robert hugged Brianna. "We just need to get in the tubes and wake up ready for work in twenty years."

"Speaking of which," Werner said, "we are two years from launch. Let's get everyone ready for stasis.

Everyone separated. John watched Werner and Gerhild leave out of the right side entrance. Maureen rushed out the other entrance. Robert and Brianna followed her at a more leisurely pace. Then, Robert jumped forward.

"Oh, Maureen, I have some things for you."

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In one of the three Cryo-chambers, Judy Robinson stood watching Major Don West working on one of the tubes. The name plate identified it as hers. This chamber would house her family, all five member. A sixth tube stood ready for the pilot, Major West. The three Leflers and Dr. Smith would use a second cryo-chamber. The Kaisers and Katia and Rupert in the third.

"Hey," Don called, holding out his hand to her, "can you hand me a spanner?"

Judy complied, handing him the tool.

"Will this thing be ready for me?"

"Of course," West smiled to her, "I just need to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow and clear the matrix cache."

Judy chuckled.

"That doesn't even make sense, Don."

"It doesn't have to." He joined her in laughter. "Honestly, there's nothing wrong with the bloody thing. I just wanted to spend time with you before we enter stasis."

"Really, Major. Don't you have other things to worry about? Pre-flight sequence or something?"

"Are you kidding? This ship is a giant computer with engines. Alpha Control deals with the pre-flight stuff. I just make sure the ship is on course then I land her on Trigellus Four. Easy peezy japaneezy."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I've got the cake-walk part of this mission."

"Even on Trigellus?"

"Planet side, I'll be working security for the exploration missions." Don's voice took on a sarcastic tone. "Keeping everyone safe from the deadly aliens."

"Sounds like a tough job." Judy said, getting closer to Don.

He stepped out from behind the cyro-tube. "I'm a tough guy."

"And what will you be doing planet-side?"

"Oh, not much," Judy said, sounding unhappily, "I just be sitting here on the Jupiter all alone."

"We can't have that." They were only inches apart now. "We'll have to find something to occupy you, won't we?"

Suddenly, the door opened behind them. Judy and Don jumped apart as Maureen and Robert entered the chamber.

"You're right, we should check that. I don't know if we have enough-" Maureen stopped when she saw Judy and Don, who were both turning a deep red.

"Did we interrupt something?" Robert asked.

"No!" Judy said. "Don was just checking my tube."

"Really?" Maureen's face showed just what she thought of Don's examination.

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Will Robinson, ten years old, child genius. At this moment, his world is focused wholly on the equipment on the table in front of him. He soldered the resistor to the circuit board. If he hurried, he could still test the regulator before going in to the tube.

He barely noticed the opening of the door behind him or the person coming up behind him.

"What are you doing in here?" It was Katia Zakharin, the EC orphan who had joined Alpha Control as a volunteer colonial.

Will turned to her, "I noticed that the botanical system is wasting a half of a percent of the water going through it. I am building a new flow regulator to counter the waste issue. I'm working on the timing circuits right now."

Katia smiled at him. He always impressed people with his intelligence and skill.

"You know, Will, that the launch is less than two hours from now. We have to get ready."

Will turned back to the small circuit. "I'll be done soon, I'm almost fin- WHOA!"

The small circuit board that he had been working on started blowing sparks and smoke coiled to the ceiling.

"Oh, man."

Katia chucked, "Maybe you can try again later."

Will realized that she was right. He did not have time before launch to try again. Maybe he could leave the design for Penny and she could try. Or he could get her to wake him up at some point to try this again.

"I can't wait to tell your parents about this."

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Penny loved the sight before her. Conner Lefler stood before his mirror. The eighteen year old shared his dad's light brown hair and his mother's green eyes. He fussed over the cryo-suit, a silvery shiny suit that he obviously hated.

She wished that they could be alone now, but he only had a short time before entering stasis.

Penny also wished that they had met away from this mission. But she knew deep down that they never would have met without the Jupiter Mission. Penny grew up in the center of the North American continent in the Turner Institute where she was educated. Then she came to New Columbia, the site of Alpha Control, the new agency overseeing the Mission. Alpha Control was birthed in the aftermath of World War Four, which lasted from 2197 to 2214. The war had started over the stupidest reason; a border dispute between the Eastern Coalition and the independent Republic of Kyrgyzstan which was subsequently invaded by the EC. The Global Alliance came in to defend their sovereignty. Eighteen years of war broke out. In 2214, the Alliance military stormed the capital of the EC. In the aftermath, Penny's mother gathered some of the greatest minds and it was agreed that colonizing a new world could bring a new unity for the world. Thus, Alpha Control started the Jupiter Mission.

The Mission brought Conner from the west coast of North America and put him into Penny's life. They may not have had a lot of freedom or privacy, but they had grown closer as the years passed. They both dreaded the launch date, and here it was.

She had thought it was bad enough that she would go through the next two years of her subjective time without anyone. She would spend one week a month for the next eighteen years performing checks on the Jupiter. She would be alone for the time.

"You know, you really should head back to your quarters so you can get ready." Conner said.

"It doesn't really matter," Penny responded, "I'm not going into stasis.

She told Conner the false story about the fever that Smith gave her mother. After all, she was still trying to come to terms with what the Doctor had told her. She wanted comfort from Conner, but she really did not know how to tell him what was going on.

"Yet more time away from you."

"C'mon, Pen, don't say that." He said sitting down next to her.

She put her head on his shoulder and he pulled her into a hug.

"You know that I would love to stay up with you. But I can't."

"You're just glad that you don't have to deal with Smith for a week."

Penny groaned. "Of all of the people to spend a week alone with, it has to be-"

Conner caught her in a kiss.

It was at the very moment as her brain melted that the door opened.

"STOP THAT!" came the gruff German voice of Werner Kaiser.

'Crap,' Penny thought as the bull of a man grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room.

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John entered the Robinson's cryo-chamber. He could see Judy and Maureen preparing for the cryo-stasis. Don West was standing nearby. He looked like the kid caught with their hand in the candy jar. As he stepped in, Robert Lefler stepped out.

John went over to his own tube. He opened a panel on the side to check its status.

Then, Werner walked into the room. He dragged Penny into the room, and she was protesting loudly. Conner followed them.

"John, Maureen," Werner stopped in front of them, but he did not release Penny.

Maureen sighed, "What did she do now?"

"I caught her with Conner in his room."

"We weren't doing anything." Penny said, wrenching her arm from Werner's vice grip.

"We were just talking when he came in." Conner said.

"They were eating each other's tonsils."

"PENNY!" Maureen grabbed Penny's other arm. "How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Mom, please," Penny tried to escape her mother's grip, "nothing happened."

"Not according to Werner." Maureen retorted.

John intervened, "Maureen, settle down."

Maureen stewed for a moment. Then she released Penny and folded her arms over her chest. "So, what do you suggest, John."

"Conner," the teen looked like a deer in headlights, "what happened?"

"We were talking," he said, "I sat down next to her, and I kissed her."

Maureen huffed. John did not know why, but she had always stood against her daughter dating the Lefler's son. Personally, he thought they were cute together, but he did not get a say in the situation. He had been out of their lives for many years.

"This never would have happened if they had been raised in the Eastern Coalition." Werner said this under his breath, but they all heard it.

"Yeah, right!" Penny burst out before anyone could stop her. "In the EC, I would have to worry about the Secret Police and their rape gangs."

'Wonderful,' John thought. The last thing they needed was a political argument.

"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" Werner retorted, "Our society never condoned-"

"Stop it!" John jumped between them before the argument could escalate into a fight.

They stopped, but he could see that neither wanted to back down.

Don stepped over to Werner. "Werner, how about we get you ready for launch."

Werner glowered, but he allowed the Major to lead him out of the room. Conner followed discretely.

"I cannot believe you did that, Penny." Judy said from in front of her own tube.

Penny grinned, like she had won a victory.

Maureen smacked her over the back of the head, the grin disappeared as Penny flinched.

"Penelope Angela Robinson!" she said, "you should know better than to bring up bad history like that."

"History?" Penny exclaimed, "The Secret Police were only disbanded two years ago!"

John found himself intervening for the second time in as many minutes.

"The point is that the Secret Police were disbanded. Whatever is happening in the Eastern Coalition now, the Secret Police are no longer a part of it."

Penny and Maureen both looked ready to speak up, but John held a finger to his mouth.

Silenced, Penny turned and huffed out of the room. Maureen started to follow, but John stopped her.

"Let me go, John."

"No. What's the point of stopping her from fighting with Werner if you are just going to take up where he stopped?"

"She needed to be reprimanded."

"She was." He let go of Maureen. "Punishing her further would have been pointless."

"How would you know, John? You haven't been here."

There it was; the old reprimand. Maureen had always complained that he was never there for his family.

"And you've never taken an interest in Penny."

Anger burst in John Robinson at this. An old flaming anger that had simmered for sixteen years. He wanted to lash out at Maureen for that; she knew better than to bring that up.

John took a few deep breaths to calm down, it barely worked.

"I don't think now is the time to discuss this, Maureen."

Maureen turned red when she realized what she had said in front of her oldest child. The Robinsons may have fought, but they always strived not to involve their children.

"You're right." She locked him with a steely gaze. "But we will discuss this later."

They both turned back to their launch preparations.

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Penny sat in one of the pilot's chairs on the control deck. She had run here after the argument with her parents. She could not take it. First, Kaiser had his rose-tinted view of his homeland. Then, Mom and her idealist ways berating her for simply stating a truth they refused to deal with. And then there was Dad, who simply dismissed everything. Would it kill him to take her side once in a while? But NO! He never helped her.

She did not know how long she had been sitting here, but they had to be close to launch time.

"Ah, Penelope," came a crisp voice that she knew and loathed, "here you are."

She turned the chair around and saw Doctor Smith standing a few feet away.

"How many times do I have to tell you that my name is Penny?"

Smith chuckled. "Are you ready for launch?"

"How long do we have?"

He looked to a watch on his left wrist, "About three minutes. Major West should be here soon."

"So, everyone is already in stasis."

"Safely tucked and ready to go. I just made the final checks for Alpha Control. Major West was glad to have the help."

"Don't suppose two hours was enough time for you." She really hoped that she could just avoid the coming days with an answer and a hop in the stasis tube.

"Afraid not." Smith said. "I have already eliminated several possibilities, but the field is not narrowing."

Penny slumped.

At that moment, Major West came striding into the control room. Seeing Penny, he waved to her.

"Well, kid, you really know how to shake things up. Werner was ballistic for a good hour and a half. Almost crammed him into his tube just to shut him up."

"Sorry, Don."

"Don't be." He said as he took a seat at the central helm console. "I'm no fan of the EC either. Werner needs to wake up."

Penny smiled, at least Don West had her back.

Don pressed a button on the console. "Alpha Control, this is Jupiter Two. We are buttoned up and ready for launch."

"Roger, Major West. Jupiter Mission is a go. Prepare for launch in T-Minus sixty seconds."

"Acknowledged."

Penny wished that she could be at home watching the launch on television; or even in Alpha Control watching from a mile away. This was going to be an impressive sight.

Dr. Smith took a seat in the third pilot's chair. All three fastened their safety harnesses at the same time. This brought a smile to Penny's face.

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In the mission control center of Alpha Control, fifty men and women sat at computer stations checking and re-checking the status of three ships ready to blast into the great unknown.

One voice rose above the rest of the clatter, amplified by the speaker system broadcasting around the world.

"Launch in T-Minus 10 seconds…"

Everyone scrambled to make sure that their systems were ready.

"…9…"

Several of the people pressed keys at their stations signaling three engines a mile away to start the intermix of fuel.

"…8…"

Other people around the room signal the launch pads to start a slow raise from the ground. They will reach ten feet in the next seven and a half seconds.

"…7…"

At this point, computer monitors show that the three vessels are ready, green lights glow on the boards.

"…6…5…4…"

All chatter ends, no one has anything more to say. News announcers are silent. The only voice is the one saying,

"…3…2…1…"

The launch pads reach their full height. The three Jupiters now tower over the sands, reflecting the sun's rays. Every eye in the world is tuned to this moment. No one dares to blink.

"…LAUNCH!"

Simultaneously, in the engines of three ships, several thousand gallons of fuel are aerosolized and ejected of the bottom of the ships.

A spark is triggered in each ship.

The fuel is sprayed directly into the triggered spark.

The fuel explodes into massive fireballs.

The fireballs are channeled down with a force strong enough not only to lift the ships off of the launch pads, but also force the launch pad to sink the ten feet back to ground level.

The trio of ships rises into the sky trailing fire and smoke below them.

Within seconds, more fuel is ejected out of the engines and the ships quickly reach speeds that most people can only dream of going.

As the world watches, something unexpected occurs.

All three of the ships are identical. They are each expelling the same volume of fuel for the launch. Their speed should be synchronized.

But one ship rises faster than the others.

No one knows why. In the coming years, many of Alpha Control's top scientists and researchers will posit theories for the occurrence. None of these theories will ever gain the weight of proof.

It is simply seen and wondered at.

The Jupiter Two is beating the others to space.

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After several minutes of being rocked around and pasted to their chairs, the view outside the windows changed from light blue to dark blue and finally to black with the light pinpoints of the stars.

Don leaned forward and pressed a set of controls. "We're still in one piece. And the gravity field is working. We should be able to walk without any difficulty."

Penny undid her harness and jumped out of the chair. She leaned over the console in order to get a better view of the outside.

Never before had she seen a clearer view of the stars. They looked almost unreal from here. She could see the Milky Way, a sight that she had never really been able to make out even on the clearest of nights.

She barely registered Don checking in with Alpha Control or Smith standing up from his own chair. She took in the sight of stars that she had only ever seen in photographs.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her from her reverie. She turned and saw that Don was trying to get her attention.

"Penny, I need you to not lean on the console. They ship might think you're trying to input flight data."

"Oh, right." Penny stepped back from the console. But her attention was still trained on the view beyond the window.

Don chuckled as he turned back to the radio to Alpha Control. "Control, this is Jupiter Two. I have set up on our course for Trigellus Four."

"Roger, Major, we confirm your readings. You are set for Trigellus."

"Thank you, Control. I am setting up the FTL."

Don double-checked the navigational interface. The blue icon of the Jupiter Two sat squarely on the line leading from Sol to Trigellus. Turning slightly, he opened a panel marked FTL. He pulled a key out of the recess. He inserted the key into a slot in front of him and turned it.

A screen lit up on the console. A progress meter started counting up from zero percent up to one hundred.

Don took the few seconds to look back at Penny Robinson. The kid was entranced. He did not blame her. He had pictures of his first time in space. They made him look like a slack-jawed idiot. Not a difficult task, he admitted; and the pictures were always good for a laugh.

Smith, on the other hand, paced around the control room with a bored expression. Don did not like the doctor. He rubbed him the wrong way.

Don turned back to the console. The FTL was nearing one hundred percent.

"Whoa!" Don turned to Penny.

She simply pointed out the window. He followed her finger to see the Jupiter One. It was already prepared for FTL. That made sense, each ship was supposed to start a minute after the last.

The back quarter of the Jupiter One's silver hull had opened and three massive exhaust ports could be seen. Red, blue, and green lights also glowed as various pieces of equipment activated in the engine room. Don knew that the same thing was occurring in the back of their own ship at the same time.

Suddenly, the ports on the back of Jupiter One flashed a brilliant white and in a blink the ship stretched out to infinity and was gone. It had started its long voyage to Trigellus.

"That was cool." Penny said from behind him.

Don smiled as the Jupiter Two's FTL signaled ready. "You ain't seen nothing yet, kid."

A voice came over the radio, it was Don's old wingman, Jeb Walker, "Jupiter Two, we read FTL ready on your boards."

"Roger, Alpha Control, FTL is ready to go."

"Major West, you are clear for Faster-Than-Light Drive."

Don signaled their final message for a long time. "Alpha Control, this is Jupiter Two. We are engaging FTL. Signing off."

"God speed, old friend," came the final reply.

Don grabbed a lever on the console and slowly pushed it forward.

In the window, the stars slowly began to stretch from pinpricks to long colored lines stretching towards them. The whole of reality seemed to stretch with it. Then, like a rubber band, it all snapped back with a jerk and a

POW!

The view outside the window no longer showed the star-scape. Instead, there was a tunnel of light that they were traveling through. Every color imaginable could be seen in a mass of swirling shifting shapes around them. In front of them at an unimaginable distance it all come together in a vortex of colors.

Don turned to Penny, "Now, that is cool."

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"I guess now would be a bad time to mention that I am not a cold weather type of guy."

Don stood in his cryo-tube as Doctor Smith double-checked his connections. The check was not necessary, but Don had been paranoid and Smith obliged his request.

"I find it interesting, Major, that your sense of humor gets worse the closer you are to anxiety."

"I love you, too, Doc." Penny could see the sarcasm dripping from Don's mouth.

Don looked to her as Smith resolutely ignored him.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"It's a fever, Don, not the plague." She said with a grin.

"That's not what I'm worried about, kid. Your parents told me to make sure you behave."

Penny laughed, "Fat lot of good that does, how are you going to watch over me as a popsicle?"

Don cracked a smile, but his eyes did reflect the humor.

"I'll behave." She reassured him. "Besides, how much trouble can I get in on an empty ship."

"Well, you two have never really gotten along."

Penny glanced at Smith, who was closing the panel on the side of the tube. Don was right, the doctor creeped her out.

"Don't worry, Don. I'll probably be spending most of my time in the engine room making sure the ship doesn't fly apart."

As Smith stepped away from the tube, Don grabbed his arm. "You watch out for her, Smith."

"Major, we both know that Penelope is quite capable of taking care of herself. Otherwise, she would not have been approved as Ship's Mechanic."

Before Don could say anything, Smith took his hand off of his shoulder. "I assure you, Major, I shall see that Penelope comes to as little harm as I can."

This seemed to satisfy Don as he relaxed in the tube.

"See you in eighteen years." He said, pressing a button next to his shoulder.

The tube closed around him. Penny and Smith stepped back.

A white mist filled the cryo-tube, slightly obscuring Don for a few seconds. Then with a hiss, the mist disappeared and Don was frozen. He actually looked like a stiff wax replica.

"So, you're going to be watching me for the next couple of days."

"Don't be silly, my dear," Smith said, "I'm a doctor, not a babysitter."

Smith started to leave the room.

"When will this be over?" she asked.

Smith stopped and turned back to her.

"I will be running as many tests as I can as quickly as I can. Hopefully, I will have a diagnosis soon."

"So, what do I do in the meantime?"

"I don't know." Smith turned again, leaving, "Ogle Major West or your little boyfriend for all I care. If I need you for a test, I will call you."

And he was gone.

Alone in the room with her family popsicles, Penny simply said, "Damn it."

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That's Chapter One in the bag. Chapter Two should be up in a few days. Please if you have read this fic, I would love to know what you thought of it. Love it, like it, loathe it, or hate it, please tell me.

Also, I want to give a little shout-out to todshi, who wrote a wonderful story that my friend and I read this past weekend called "Penny Robinson's Bitter 16" on Deviantart. Check it out, it is really good stuff. At least I liked it, let me put it that way.

Until next time…


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Still don't own Lost in Space. Still not making money off of this fic. Review if you like, review if you don't like, don't review if you don't want to.

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Chapter Two

"Well, it's been a bad week." Penny said into a log recorder. Usually, the recorder was attached to a gauntlet that she would wear with her mechanic's utility uniform. Everyone on the mission was supposed to keep a log for Alpha Control's records. When the mission finished, Penny hoped that she could publish her log for the public.

Penny strode down the C-deck corridor. The door to the Engine Room stood before her.

"I have been dealing with Dr. Smith's tests all week. That man is the laziest ass in Alpha Control, but give him a medical mystery and he refuses to sleep. Or let me sleep. Now, I want to know what he detected too, but is it really necessary to do an MRI at two in the morning. I would think that could wait until morning."

To say that Penny Robinson was annoyed would win the speaker an award at the county fair's understatement competition.

"I cannot tell you how much I have poked, prodded, and pinched. He has collected just about every kind of sample he can get off me. I don't even think he's working on figuring anything out, I think he's trying to clone me.

"Then he had the audacity to ask if this could be an STD. I have never been so insulted in my life. Conner and I are cautious enough to avoid that sort of thing."

Not that she would admit to either Alpha Control or the global public, but Penny knew that a sexually transmitted disease was impossible for her. Smith had wrenched out her embarrassed secret. Penny was still a virgin, despite her desires with Conner. Smith had actually laughed at this, which really pissed her off. Apparently the doctor had been convinced that she had been sexually active for at least a year.

It did not help that the timeframe coincided with a certain incident involving the whole maintenance department of Alpha Control, a bet on a game with the science division, and an "accident" that resulted in Penny standing in the Flight Control Center with her pants around her ankles and a leering smug ass Joseph Carter smirking up at her from the floor. Needless to say, it is not one of Penny's favorite memories.

Penny returned to her log, "This morning, Smith said that he still doesn't know what's up. It's not life-threatening. He's eliminated that. And he's eliminated anything that can be made worse by cryo-stasis.

"I was so happy to hear that. I am going into cryo-stasis in about an hour. I can't say that I am looking forward to spending the new few years alone, but at least there won't be Doctor Smith."

Smith had protested vehemently against letting her go into cryo. But she had twisted his arm and Smith finally agreed and noted in the log that Penny would be entering stasis.

Penny had practically run to her quarters to change from her utility coveralls into her cryo-suit.

She luxuriated in the silky material of the cryo-suit. One of the problems that she had, and been forced into revealing to Smith as part of his week-long interrogation, was a hyper-sensitivity to the material of her clothes. Her utility coveralls, while functional, were made of denim. Every second in them drove her crazy with itching sensations all over her body. The cryo-suit did not irritate her nearly as much as most of her wardrobe. The suit made for a tight fit, but it did not irritate her.

After changing, Penny spent an hour in the Lefler's cryo-chamber telling Conner what had transpired. She knew that he could not hear her, but her daily visits helped her calm down. She enjoyed venting to her boyfriend popsicle.

"Right now, I'm just making sure that everything is battened down. Then I will enter stasis. Penny Robinson's personal log, signing off, for now."

Finding nothing out of place in the Engine Room, she stepped back into the corridor, preparing to head back up to B-deck and the Cryo-chambers.

Suddenly, she heard a bang for the nearby Robot Bay.

Penny turned at the unexpected noise. Smith was supposed to be up in the Medbay. He needed to prepare for cryo-stasis himself. He claimed he needed two hours to properly close down the Medbay.

Why was there a bang in the Robot Bay an hour later on the other side of the ship?

Penny decided to investigate, heading over to the Robot Bay. She noticed that the door was partially open. This alone made her suspicious. These doors were powered to be closed. Examining the wall, she saw that a panel had been removed and the door's power cable had been disconnected. This also had the effect of stopping the ship's systems from acknowledging that the door was open. It meant that someone could enter the room and no one would even know unless they physically saw the door.

'Someone is sneaking around,' she thought. 'Smith?'

Penny stepped into the Robot Bay. She pressed the panel for the lights, but nothing happened. Whoever had disabled the door had done the same to the lights.

"Hello," she called out, "Who is in here? Doctor Smith, is that you?"

There was no answer, but she could hear a scurrying in the distance. She could hear something get dropped to the ground.

Turning in that direction, she called out. "Smith, what are you doing in here?"

Then, she noticed another panel that had been jimmied open. She stepped over to the panel to fix this.

She was just getting to work when she heard a few steps behind her. She turned to see who it was. The person was standing in the shadows to avoid identification, but Penny could see that the silhouette was taller than her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The silhouette said nothing. They simply rose their arm. She could see something in their hand, but she could not see exactly what it was.

There was a bright flash and a loud bang.

Penny jerked back as if from a punch. But that wasn't right; there was a sharp pain and a sudden wetness in her gut and lower back. She looked down. There was a hole in the cryo-suit and the color red was spreading down from the hole. Then she felt some liquid trailing down her right leg.

She had been shot.

Penny panicked. She turned back to the panel. She saw a bundle of wires and wrenched them out of the wall. In the back of her mind, she recalled that this bundle helped power the Robot Bay's terminal of the Main Computer.

A loud blaring alarm started. Penny smiled, that would override the cryo-stasis systems and the crew would be awakened.

She heard a growl from the person behind her, and there was another bang.

This time the pain tore through the right side of her back, slamming her into the wall. She saw the burst of blood come from right under her collar and spray against the wall.

She turned around trying to see her attacker.

The silhouette fired the weapon again.

She blacked out as she dropped to the ground.

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John stepped out of the cryo-tube. Something was wrong. He knew it instinctively. He had done cryo-stasis for a year-long experiment on an outpost at Alpha Centauri. When he came out, he had felt disoriented and it had taken an hour for his head to clear. Cryo-lethargy, they had called it. After eighteen years, he should not feel this good.

"What's that noise?" that was Don. That did not make sense, either.

But, John's attention was pulled from the mystery to the loud blaring sounding through the room and the red lights flashing.

John saw the computer panel near Maureen's tube.

Maureen was helping Will and Judy out of their tubes. Will covered his ears.

John rushed to the computer panel. He jabbed a button and the alarm stopped blaring. Pressing more buttons, he pulled up a status screen of the ship. The Robot Bay was flashing red.

"Don, the alarm was triggered in the Robot Bay."

"I'm coming, too." Maureen said.

The three of them rushed out of the room. He barely heard Judy calling for Penny.

"I don't think we made it to Trigellus." Don said as they ran.

"Neither do I," John said, "we're too clear and you should have been awake before us."

"So, how long?"

"We'll worry about that later." John said as he reached the lift.

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When their lift opened on C-Deck, John, Don, and Maureen were joined by Robert Lefler. They all ran for the Robot Bay.

"John, what's going on?" Robert asked.

"Don't know." John answered.

They passed through the Engine Room.

"When I got off the lift, I saw that the weapons locker was open." Robert said. "At least one pistol is missing."

John increased his speed.

They exited the Engine Room. He could see the Robot Bay door open.

"That's not good." Robert said.

The trio rushed through the door.

Penny lay on the floor. John did not know what to do, standing in the doorway. There was a pistol next to Penny. Even from a few feet away, John could see the charge indicator. Three shots had been fired.

'How the hell could this happen?' he thought.

Maureen screamed as she rushed to her daughter. She fell to the ground, crying and hugging the teen.

The crouching figure spoke, "Maureen, we have to get her to the Medbay."

Don spent less than a second checking Penny before he grabbed the man. Don slammed him against the wall.

"Smith," Don yelled, "what the hell happened?"

"Major," Smith sputtered, "I swear that I had nothing to do with this."

Don pointed to the pistol on the ground. "Explain that!"

"I was in my lab preparing for stasis. I heard several bangs and came running. Then the alarms started. I found Penelope on the ground. I had just started to examine her when you arrived."

Smith turned to John. "We need to get her to the Medbay so I can save her life."

"Save her life?" Robert stepped up to Smith, holding the pistol to his face. "You expect us to believe that you want to save the life of the person you just shot?"

"I didn't do this."

"There was no one else awake." Don said, "Or are you saying that she shot herself?"

"Of course not," Smith retorted, "But if you don't let me go, she will die.

"Don, let him go."

Don hesitated, but he let go of the Doctor. He and Robert stepped back, but the pistol stayed trained on Smith.

Smith straightened his jacket and started toward Penny.

"Thank you, John, I knew that you would believe me."

Suddenly, Smith was on the ground. Maureen had jumped up onto him.

"Why?" she screamed. "Why did you do this? You monster!"

John and Don both grabbed her, dragging her off the doctor.

"Maureen, please." John pulled out of the Robot Bay back into the hall. "That is not helping."

"How can you defend him, John?" she slapped him. "Look what he did to my daughter."

"I know that the evidence is pretty damning for Smith." John said, clutching her arms to stop further lashing out. "But he is a doctor, the only one ready for major surgery on this ship. He will save her life."

Maureen calmed down as reason returned to her mind. John did not blame. He wanted to deck Smith as well.

"And if he doesn't, I will not hesitate to throw him out of the airlock."

Smith and Don emerged from the Robot Bay carrying Penny. Robert followed, the pistol still trained on Smith.

"Let's get her to the Medbay."

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The awkward quintet entered the Medbay in a rush. Smith and Don took Penny straight to one of the bio-beds. The display over the head immediately activated and showed a wide variety of medical data about Penny. John held Maureen as they both watched Smith get to work.

A moment passed before the door opened again. They all turned to see Werner Kaiser enter. He held his hand to his head.

"Doctor Smith, I fell out of my-"

Werner stopped when he saw the commotion in the room.

"Mein got, what is this?"

Smith answered, "She was shot in the Robot Bay."

"How?"

Robert pointed at Smith with the pistol.

"He shot her."

"Smith?" Werner exclaimed. "I don't believe it."

"We found him with her and the gun." West said.

Smith interrupted the conversation.

"It is a coincidence, I assure you."

Smith stared intently at Werner for a second, then he said, "You have a minor concussion. In the depensory there is a purple bottle labeled Encerebrum. Take one and you'll be fine in a moment."

Werner was about to say something when the whole ship bucked. No one fell down, but it only luck.

"What was that?" Smith said.

"Felt like something hit us."

"What about the inertial dampeners?" Werner asked. "That shouldn't have happened."

John let go of Maureen. "Let's check that out."

The men left, heading for the cockpit, leaving Smith and Maureen attending to Penny.

Smith waved a probe over Penny, scanning her wounds.

"How is she?" Maureen asked.

"I will know the full details in a minute. Two of the shots passed through her body. I will have to repair both the entrance and exit wounds. I am looking for the third."

"Will you be able to remove the bullet?"

"That depends on where it is and what condition it is in." Smith held the scanner right over the wound just under Penny's right breast.

"I will be honest, Doctor Robinson, it is not looking good."

"Tell me."

"This wound," Smith indicated a small entry wound on the left side of Penny's abdomen, "passed straight through. There is damage to her intestines and her kidney.

"This," Smith pointed to a larger nastier wound near the right side of her neck, "looks much worse than it is; no major damage. I can fix these easily in surgery. I will need Brianna Lefler's help and perhaps Judith's as well."

Maureen nodded. She went over to the computer panel and called both Brianna and Judy down to the Medbay. "What about the last shot?"

The ship jerked again, stopping Smith from continuing.

"The third bullet struck a rib and shattered; looks like three pieces. The first piece rebounded and is currently sitting in fatty tissue. The second piece went down embedding itself in the liver. The last piece punched through her lung and it is now sitting dangerously close to her spinal cord. I will have to remove, but it will be very dangerous."

"Then get to work." Maureen said.

The ship jerked harder than before. Smith grabbed both sides of the bio-bed

"I will get to work, and I will do what I can." Smith said as they rocked again. "But if this ship does not stay still, then you daughter will die on the table."

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Chaos reigned in the Control Room. A thick white gaseous substance obscured the viewport. Large boulders of rock would suddenly appear and the ship would be knocked about by the impact.

Don fought the controls to try and steer the ship through the blind path. Each impact solicited a grunt and an expletive from the pilot. John sat in the second pilot's station attempted to help Don maintain control.

Robert and Werner stood at the navigation station, trying to figure out their location.

"The computer is not responding." Robert kicked the stubborn console.

"Our course is supposed to be devoid of comets." Werner shouted.

The quartet did not know for a fact that they were in the tail of a comet. However, they were thorough convinced by the obscuring gases and ice chucks the size of the Pod.

"Don, we need to get of this." John said.

The harassed pilot barely turned to him. "What I need for you three to either start saying something constructive, or shut up."

Another chunk of ice appeared, and Don jerked the controls. The Jupiter barely missed running headlong into it.

"I've got something." Werner exclaimed. "I have managed to patch the feed from the external sensors into the holo-emitter."

John turned in his chair to see the projection in the back. The Jupiter appeared as a small red shape. It was floating in space, surrounded by a comet. As more information came in through the sensor, the projection gained more objects. A star appeared with three planets and an asteroid belt orbiting it. John did not recognize the system.

"Don," Robert called from the computer, "come about to course zero-nine-four by three-two-seven. That should get us clear without too much in our path."

Don adjusted the flight controls and the Jupiter turned.

John stood and headed back to the navigation computer.

"Any idea what this system is?"

"Not yet," Werner said, "for some reason, the nav-database does not want to load. I am trying my best, but the computers are not my field. They fall under Conner and-"

Werner stopped, looking away from John.

"Penny, I know." John said. He really did not know how he felt about Penny being in the Medbay, but he could not afford to deal with that right now. "Get Conner up here, see if he can get the database up."

Robert ran to the intercom.

"We're clear of the comet." Don said, relieved.

John turned back to the viewport. Directly ahead of them, about the size of basketball, floated an orange ball of a planet. It poles were covered by massive white caps. White wisps covered parts of it. Small blue patches could be seas or oceans. He recalled the image from texts he used many years ago when learning about planetology. He just could not remember the name.

"Robert, do you recognize the planet." John turned to his fellow planetologist.

A look of recognition flashed over Robert's face. "It can't be. It's-"

Suddenly, the navigation computer started sparking. Everyone turned, shielding themselves from harm.

"What the hell!" Werner exclaimed.

Then it exploded.

The main part of the console stayed intact, but a fireball erupted out of the top of the holo-projector. The acrylic top that protected the controls and the projector assembly shattered and pieces flew everywhere. Components blew apart and shrapnel joined the acrylic pieces in the air. A concussion force threw Werner away from the console. John and Robert both hit the deck.

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The Jupiter Two had cleared the comet. It floated in space, flying toward the third planet in the unknown star system. Nothing appeared to be wrong.

Then the FTL engines dominating the rear quarter of the ship erupted into a giant fireball.

The explosion threw the Jupiter Two tumbling through space directly at the unknown orange world.

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John coughed as he stood up. The whole room was filled with acrid smoke.

"Don, hit the vent controls."

"Got it." Don responded.

John heard him tapping some buttons, then large fans turned on, and the smoke started to clear slowly.

He knew that he had been knocked senseless for a few seconds because he did not recall seeing or hearing the fire suppression system dump foam all over the navigation console.

"Everyone alright?" he asked.

"I'm okay," came Don's response, "I was strapped in."

"I'm not too bad," came Robert's voice from behind him.

A groan was Werner's only response.

"Werner doesn't look too good." Robert said. John could now see him over the roboticist.

"Get him down to Medbay."

Robert hoisted Werner to a standing position and they left the Control Room.

John returned to the second flight control seat.

"How bad is it, Don?"

"It's bad." Don's had a white-knuckle grip on the controls, "I've stopped the spin, but she is really fighting me."

John grabbed his own set of controls, activating his station. He could feel the controls wanting to pull to the right. He leaned on the left.

"Is this helping?"

"Yeah, thanks." Don was able to relax a little. "I think that we lost control of the stabilizers or the thrusters, I don't know."

"We're going to have to land this heap."

"Yeah, and it's going to be rough."

John activated the ship's intercom as the orange globe grew in the viewport.

"Listen, everyone, Don and I are going to try to land the Jupiter on a nearby planet. We only have partial control and no stabilizers. This is going to get rough. Strap yourselves into the crash couches and brace for landing."

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The Jupiter Two did not gently enter the planet's atmosphere. It slammed into the thin film of air clinging to the planet's surface.

Fire surrounded the ship as it screamed through the upper layers of the atmosphere. The ship's skin glowed red as friction cooked the underside. The ship bucked and juked as the air's density shifted all around it.

After several minutes of this torture, the ship passed into the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Even though the hover drive worked and kept the Jupiter from simply plummeting out of the sky, the ship rocked back and forth as random thrusters fired all around the ship's circumference.

The ship wobbled like a drunk as it flew around the peaks of mountains and skimmed the tops of massive plateaus.

Every so often the ship would rise or plummet a few hundred feet as it played a dangerous game of tug-of-war with gravity.

The ship lost the game.

One mountain peak proved impossible to avoid, and it gouged a tear in the underside of the hull, barely missing the hover drive.

The Jupiter fell and hit the side of the mountain.

It skidded down the mountain.

It shattered boulders.

It bounced a couple of times.

It flew off of a cliff.

Somehow, it found some control as the Jupiter turned the fall into a glide.

Landing gear extended from the bottom of the ship.

The Jupiter Two hit the bottom of the valley on its landing gear.

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John let go of the controls, and slumped into his chair. His body felt like a lead weight. He knew that this was the crush after the adrenaline rush of the last few minutes.

He turned to see Don securing his station.

When Don turned to him, there was a smile on his face. "We made it."

"I think you scratched the paint."

They both laughed.

"Next time, you drive."

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Another chapter posted for you all.

As you have probably guessed, this is the point where I ask you to press the little review button and tell me what you thought, whether you liked it or hated it.

I do appreciate that there are people reading this fic, and I want to thank you all for doing that. I hope that you are liking the story so far, and I want to let you know that it will get more exciting.

Chapter Three coming soon…


	4. Chapter 4 1

Disclaimer: Lost in Space may not be my property, but the rest of the universe is. That is because everything is mine, and it is easy for me have it all.

Chapter Three

The Jupiter Two suddenly exploded and everyone died.

THE END!

APRIL FOOLS!

Sorry, I could not resist using the "holiday"

The real next chapter should be coming soon.

Thanks to the peeps who have reviewed. I really appreciate what you guys said. No, that was not a joke. That was real.


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